'We continued to march ahead': Cardinals' offense reveals capabilities regardless of loss vs. Payments

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — When working again James Conner powered into the Buffalo Bills‘ finish zone late within the second quarter to provide the Arizona Cardinals a 17-3 lead, the Buffalo residence crowd of 70,542 bought eerily silent.

Arizona moved the ball at will throughout its first three drives of the season opener on Sunday afternoon, deploying a nearly-balanced assault to dominate the Payments.

The silence did not final for lengthy because the Payments have been in a position to make it 17-17 one drive into the second half earlier than the Cardinals fell brief 34-28.

Within the first half, Kyler Murray accomplished 16-of-19 cross makes an attempt to seven completely different receivers, throwing for 130 yards and a landing. He, working backs Conner and Trey Benson mixed for 16 rushes for 59 yards. Murray had this complete offseason to organize in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s scheme after an ACL tear in December 2022 sidelined him for final yr’s preseason programming.

“If we might clip three drives of what our offense desires to appear like, I believe that first drive is what our offense must function like always,” huge receiver Michael Wilson stated, who capped the workforce’s first drive with the primary landing of the season.

Wilson’s landing was the primary time Arizona had scored on its opening drive since 2015 and first time it did it on the highway since 2003. Every little thing the Cardinals did was clicking as a result of they stayed on schedule, Murray stated.

“That is the largest factor, actually, staying on schedule,” Murray stated. “Whenever you’re on the highway, popping out first sport, have not actually performed soccer in a very long time, dwell environment like that, popping out towards an awesome workforce, you do not wanna be going backwards.

“Destructive performs and stuff like that kill drives, kill momentum. We performed clear. We continued to march ahead. So, I believe that was the distinction within the first half.”

By halftime — though they gave up a late landing — the Cardinals dominated time of possession, 20:06 to 9:54.

Gannon stated Arizona began the sport with a heavy dose of Conner as a result of the Payments got here out enjoying a shell protection. He touched the ball on the primary six performs — 4 runs and two catches — single-handedly transferring Arizona from its personal 30 to deep inside Payments territory. Conner completed with 50 yards and a landing on 16 carries, and three catches for 33 yards.

“I believed the run sport seemed good,” Gannon stated. “He seemed good immediately.”

Whereas the Cardinals have been in a position to transfer the ball with ease early, they have been tempered all through the sport.

Murray averaged solely 2.9 air yards per completion and failed to finish a single cross thrown 10 or extra yards downfield, ending 0-of-6 on these throws, in accordance with ESPN Stats & Info. It was the primary time he failed to finish such a throw in a sport since Week 14 of 2022, when he solely threw one cross.

Not having the ability to join on an explosive play was one of many causes Arizona’s offense stalled within the second half.

Out of the Cardinals’ 11 second-half points, the offense scored three factors and gained 80 whole yards after halftime because the Payments clawed their again to win. Gannon stated the Payments stacked the field extra within the second half, which stuffed the Cardinals’ run sport.

Arizona’s early offensive success was with out a lot contribution from first-round choose Marvin Harrison Jr., who completed the sport with only one catch for 4 yards on three targets. They have been the fewest receiving yards by a receiver taken within the prime 5 throughout his debut since Desmond Howard — who had no yards in 1992 — and fewest yards by a receiver taken within the prime 10 throughout his debut since Mike Williams had three in 2005, in accordance with ESPN Stats & Info.

Murray stated Harrison’s involvement within the offense — or lack thereof — was a part of the pure stream of the sport. Identical went for Wilson’s involvement, whose solely catch on 5 targets was the landing.

“There wasn’t any not not making an attempt to get them the ball,” Murray stated.

Harrison was energetic on the sphere. In 54 of 60 offensive snaps, he ran 33 routes, probably the most amongst Cardinals. Gannon stated the Payments have been enjoying cloud protection towards Harrison and made it a degree to take the rookie receiver out of the offense. In line with ESPN Stats & Info, Harrison ran 11 routes towards man protection, together with one of many last play of the sport when Murray heaved a cross from the 29 to receiver Greg Dortch in the long run zone, and was not focused on any of them.

When speaking a couple of missed back-shoulder throw to Harrison within the first quarter, Murray identified that Sunday was the primary time he and Harrison performed collectively, including that “we’ll click on. We’ll get higher.”